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C. SHOLL i Removing Torpedes.

Patented Jan. .5, 1864.,

rLPErERs. PHOTO-LITHDGRAPHER. WASHINGTON. D C,

UNrrE STATES oHAREEs si-rOLL, OE BROOKLYN, AssiGNORTO En. DE MEY, OE

YORK, N. Y.

METHOD OF REVIOVING NEW SUBIVIERGED TORPEDOES.

AS'pccilicatiou forming part ot' Letters Patent No. 41B,l2, dated January 5, llJ.

To all whom, it 711mg/ concer/t:

Beit known that I, GHARLEs SHOLL, of the city of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and Statel of N ew York, have invented a new method of removing or destroying torpedoes and other submerged or partly-submerged ob structions from harbors, rivers, and other waters 5 and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this speciiication, in which- Figure l is a side view, illustrating vention and its operation. view of the same.

my in Fig. 2 is a plan Similar letters of reference indicate correl sponding parts in both iigures.

This invention consists in the removal or destruction of torpedoes or other submerged or partly-submerged vobstacles or obstructions from harbors, rivers, or other watersby throwing over them, from a mortar or mortars on board of a vessel placed at a suitable distance, one or more projectiles, which are furnished (or not) with hooks or other grappling devices, and are connected with the vessel by ropes or chains of suitable length, and then propelling the vessel in a direction to produce a draft upon said rope or chains and drag away or destroy the said obstacles orobstructions. By this means the vessel employed in removing the obstructions is prevented from being damaged by the explosion of torpedoes.

To enable others to apply my invention to use, I will proceed to describe it with reference to the drawings.

A is a vessel of the monitor or other construction, having arranged upon its deck, near one end, two mortars, B B, set at a suitable angle to each other-say about thirty de grecs in a horizontal direction-and having a suitable elevation.

C C are two projectiles fitting the bores of the two mortars, and connected by a chain or rope, c, of wire or other material, to which,

as well as to the projectiles themselves, are attached hooks b b, or other grappling devices.

D D are chains or ropes, of hide or other material, of suitable length, connecting the j projectiles with capstans or bitts E E on the y deck of the vessel. On the bow ofthe vessel there may be a shotproof or bomb-proof shield for the protection of the men working the mortars. In Fig. 2 the projectiles are Y shown in red color, not yet discharged, and the ropes or chains D D and a (shown in the same color) coiled upon the deck of the vessel, and in the same iigure the projectiles are shown in black in their flight, and the ropes or chains D D and c are shown in the same color, extended as they are near the termination of their Hight.

G G are torpedoes, and d d are the cables by which they are anchored or secured. e e is a net-work connected with the torpedoes, and f f are piles and other obstructions in the the channel.

The operation is as follows: The vessel A is run up to .within a safe distance of the rst torpedoes or obstructions, and the mortars are loaded with suitable charges of gunpowder and the projectiles C C inserted, the ropes D D being suitably coiled on the deck of the vessel. The charges iu the two mortars are fired simultaneously by a galvanic battery or other suitable means, and the projectiles, with their connecting chain or rope and attached hooks or grappling apparatus, are thrown over and beyond the torpedoes or other obstructions and allowed to sink, the rope or chain a having been extended bythe divergence of the projectiles from each other, produced by the angle at which the mortars are set to each other, and the ropes or chains D D still connecting with the bitts or capstans E E, the charges of gunpowder used in the mortars only being suilicient to throw the projectiles far enough to extend the latter ropes or chains to a taut or nearly taut condition. The vessel is thenrun back to drag away the torpedoes or other obstructions, which are thus torn' adrift, the torpedoes, in all probability, being at the same time exploded by the pull on the cords, wires, or chains connected with their locks. The explosion of the torpedoes thus produced takes place at such a distance from the vessel A as to 'be harmless to it. When the irst obstructions have been removed, the vessel is run up the channel a suitable distance beyond the first advanced position7 or to another suitable position, and the operation is repeated, and so on until all the obstructions have been removed or destroyed. As many vessels may be employed in this way as may be desirable to remove or destroy the obstructions with desirable rapidity.

Instead of the two mortars, a double-barreled mortar havinga single powder-chamber may be employed, the barrels being set at an angle to each other, like the two mortars hereinbefore described. By a mortar' of this kind the simultaneous discharge of the two projectiles C C may be insured; or a single mortar and a single projectile might be employed in connection with a rope or chain secured at its ends to two vessels. In this case hooks or grappling devices may not be necessary.

Vhat I claim as my invention, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. The removal of torpedoes or other submerged or partlysubmeiged obstacles or obstructions from harbors, rivers, or other waters by throwing over them, from a mortar or mortars on board of 'a vessel placed at a suitable distance, projectiles which are connected with the vessel by one or more ropes or chains of suitable length, and then propelling the vessel in a direction to tighten the latter rope or ropes, or chain or chains, and drag away the said obstacles or obstructions, substantially as herein specified.

2. The combination of the vessel A, one or more mortars, B B, and projectiles C C, and the rope or ropes D D and a, or their equivalents, the whole arranged to operate substantially as and for the purpose herein specified.

CHARLES SHOLL.

Titnessesz v Trios. S. J. DOUGLAss, GEO. 'W. REED. 

